Welcome to Texas Today. I’m Cleo Greene. Little Heron Bakery and Market is now open in Downtown Dallas, bringing a little breeze and charm to one of the city’s most iconic buildings.
We’re here with Daniel Rosales, the executive pastry chef at Little Heron Bakery and Cypress Club. This is such a beautiful spot. Thank you so much for inviting us into your home away from home.
“Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here.”
This place is gorgeous. How would you describe the experience at Little Heron?
“We want it to feel reminiscent of a little café bakery as you’re walking through the streets of France or Paris. As soon as you walk through the door, you get the beautiful aromas of all the bread, sandwiches, croissants, and sweets. You really can’t help but fall in love with everything you see and everything you taste when you walk in our door.”
Chef, I can smell it. What has the feedback been like from your guests?
“It’s been phenomenal so far. The best problem we could ask for is that we’re having trouble keeping up with everything.”
That’s a really good problem to have. There’s definitely a European aesthetic inside. What was the inspiration behind that?
“The best way to put it is that it’s very straightforward and European-inspired. We want it to feel like you’re walking down a little street in Paris, Luxembourg, Austria, or somewhere like that, where you’re walking past different bread shops full of baguettes, focaccia, and different pastries. Everything is handmade, from the croissants to the laminated doughs. You can even grab a bottle of wine, a little charcuterie board, and different grab-and-go options as well.”
When you see the nods to the heron bird, what’s the story behind that?
“That actually started with our sister club, Cypress Club, which is a private members-only social club. We have beautiful artwork inside one of our main dining rooms, featuring all different kinds of birds. But the center of attention is our heron. It’s a beautiful symbol of beauty itself, but also resilience.”
Now we have to talk about the food. We have croissants and so many other items laid out here. Tell me about the menu.
“We have so many different croissant options, as well as other savory and sweet options. My personal favorite is the biscuit and gravy pocket, right over here with the beautiful lattice top. Think of it as a handheld biscuit and gravy wrapped in croissant dough. In addition to that, we also have our incredible jalapeño sausage roll. Think of it like a kolache, but wrapped in croissant dough, because everything is better with butter.”
“We also have a different take on our ham and cheese croissant with everything seasoning, and our beautiful pain au chocolat. We put so much care into the pain au chocolat. I have a phenomenal pastry team helping prepare all of the laminated doughs and croissants. So much detail and precision goes into everything we make.”
You’re going to show us how to make some croissants. What level of expertise goes into that?
“It requires a lot of patience, a lot of precision, and a lot of temperature control.”
What’s the first step?
“The first step is making sure all of our dough is the right temperature. If it’s too soft, it will melt in your hands. If it’s too cold, it can become brittle and tear.”
“We’re going to start with a plain croissant, the most traditional one you can find anywhere. It starts as a long triangle, and then you roll it up.”
What makes a croissant so flaky?
“It’s all of the layers of butter that are folded into the dough. That’s what creates laminated dough. You’re laminating the dough with the butter.”
Next, we’re preparing the ham and cheese croissant.
“This one starts as a square shape. The shape itself is called a pain suisse, which is another traditional type of croissant shape. You add your ham and cheese, fold it in half, flip it over, and then I like to add a little bit of everything seasoning on top to give it more flavor.”
Next is the jalapeño sausage roll.
“We take a square of croissant dough and use a lattice roller to create a beautiful pattern. Then we take our jalapeño cheddar sausage and roll it up. This is our Texas right here. Then we finish it with a little black and white sesame.”
Last but not least, we’re making the chocolate chip cookie croissant, or the crookie.
“Traditionally, when it became a trend a couple of years ago, it was a normal croissant shape cut in half and filled with chocolate chip cookie dough. But I wanted to make it a little more original and signature to us. We make our own version that bakes into a beautiful disc, and then we finish it with chocolate ganache on top.”
You’ve thought of everything. We also have to talk about the coffee, because this is going to be a spot for coffee lovers.
“Absolutely. As far as the drink selections, we have different matcha options. We have iced matcha and hot matcha, and we also add coconut foam and ube foam. In addition to that, we have a lot of classic coffee flavors and options as well. We have a mythology chai, a sweet heat latte, and traditional iced lattes and hot lattes. There are a lot of options, so there’s usually something for everyone.”
The drinks look beautiful in the cups too. They’re done really well.
“Thank you. We have a phenomenal team, and the cups themselves are really beautiful.”
Little Heron Bakery and Market is officially open inside Fountain Place in Downtown Dallas. To visit, check out littleheronbakery.com.
